This invention relates to a miniature manually operable musical instrument.
One of the objectives of the invention is to provide a small soft toned instrument that an operator can play at random to create his own music and thereby benefit by relieving stresses and tensions of modern living.
Most musical instruments are unsuitable for this purpose because of their size, general lack of ready portability and cost, and the skill generally required to play them. Small instruments, such as harmonicas, are inconvenient to operate and are generally sufficiently loud to disturb other nearby persons.
Most miniature playing instruments are adapted only for playing fixed pre-written musical pieces and do not give the satisfaction of creative soft tone development so necessary for relief of stress, nervous tension and boredom.
For instance, the Electrified Miniature Music Box disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,489,149 employs a fixed music roll having projections which engage the corresponding fingers of a musical comb. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,882,778 discloses a toy piano operating on the same principle. These do not permit the operator to create his own music.
Whistling and humming are, today, about the only easily available musical means people have to relieve their pent-up feelings, and many people are not able to take advantage of these means.